DesiCaptionsInstagram Reels Caption Safe Area
Your captions are fine in the editor and covered by the interface in the app. Here are the numbers.
Short answer
Keep captions between roughly 20% and 75% of the frame height, and inside the left 80% of the width. Text in that box survives Instagram, YouTube Shorts and TikTok.
On a 1080 by 1920 frame, Instagram covers about the top 250 pixels, the bottom 420, and 180 down the right edge where the like and share buttons sit. TikTok covers more at the bottom, about 480 pixels.
Your editor preview shows none of this, so check the video on an actual phone before posting.
You place captions near the bottom of the frame, where captions belong, and in the Instagram feed they sit behind the username, the caption text, the audio ticker, and the row of buttons. Some viewers see them, most do not.
The frame is 1080 by 1920 pixels. Only the middle portion is reliably visible, and the exact amount depends on the platform and the phone.
The numbers
Working from a 1080 by 1920 canvas:
| Platform | Top reserved | Bottom reserved | Right side reserved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels | ~250 px | ~420 px | ~180 px |
| YouTube Shorts | ~180 px | ~380 px | ~160 px |
| TikTok | ~200 px | ~480 px | ~200 px |
Treat these as working guidance rather than a published specification. Every platform changes its interface without announcement, and taller phones with larger safe areas shift them further.
The single most useful rule: keep captions between roughly 20% and 75% of the frame height, and inside the left 80% of the width. Text inside that box survives all three platforms.
What sits in each reserved region
- Top. The status bar, and on Reels the Reels label and camera button.
- Bottom. The busiest region: username, your written caption, the audio track ticker, and on TikTok a taller stack again.
- Right edge. The vertical column of like, comment, share, and profile buttons.
- Left edge. Usually clear, but leave a small margin so text does not run to the very edge.
The right column is the one people forget. Captions centred horizontally are fine, but a long line that runs wide can slide under the buttons.
Where captions should actually go
For vertical short-form, slightly below the vertical centre works best. Around 55% to 65% of frame height puts captions under the speaker face, above the interface, and in the natural resting position for the eye.
That placement also survives being cropped for a different platform, which matters if you post the same cut to Reels, Shorts, and TikTok.
- Keep captions to three to five words a line. Long lines force smaller text and get skipped.
- Cap it at two lines. Three lines of caption on a phone covers the video.
- Use a heavy font weight with a dark outline or drop shadow, so text stays legible over a bright background.
- Test on an actual phone before posting. A desktop preview shows none of the interface that will cover your text.
How big should the text be?
Placement solves being covered. Size solves being ignored.
On a 1080 by 1920 frame, 58 to 72 pixels is a sensible caption size. That looks oversized on a desktop monitor and correct on the phone where it will actually be watched, which is the only screen that counts.
- Under 45 px. Too small. Viewers scrolling at speed will not read it.
- 58 to 72 px. The usual range for short-form captions.
- Over 90 px. Only for a single punchy word. A full line at this size covers the video.
Pair the size with a heavy weight and a dark outline of three to five pixels. Captions have to stay readable over a white kitchen wall and a night street with equal reliability, and an outline is what makes that possible without a background box.
Mistakes that cost the most views
- Captions at the very bottom. The instinctive placement, and the one Instagram covers with the username and audio ticker.
- Long lines running to the right edge. They slide under the like and share buttons. Keep to the left 80% of the width.
- Captions over the speaker face. The viewer is watching the face. Text on top of it competes with the thing they came for.
- Trusting the desktop preview. It shows a clean frame with none of the interface that will sit on top of it.
- Reusing a landscape template. Caption styles designed for 16:9 place text far too low once the frame is vertical.
Does the safe area change by platform?
Yes, and the differences are large enough to matter if you post one cut everywhere.
Instagram Reels
The bottom is crowded: username, your written caption, and the audio ticker stack up over roughly 420 pixels. The right column of buttons takes about 180.
YouTube Shorts
The most forgiving of the three. Roughly 380 pixels at the bottom and 160 on the right. Text that works on Reels works here.
TikTok
The most demanding. Around 480 pixels at the bottom and 200 on the right, because the interface carries more elements.
If you post the same video to all three, design for TikTok. Captions that clear TikTok interface clear the other two automatically. Captions generated for Shorts and for Reels are positioned for vertical video by default, and the position stays adjustable before export.
A quick way to check
Post the video to your own story, or upload it as a draft, and look at it on your phone. Thirty seconds of checking catches a problem that would otherwise cost you the whole video.
If you burn captions in with a tool rather than placing them by hand, check where its templates position text by default. Templates designed for landscape video frequently sit captions far too low for vertical. Our caption styles are positioned for vertical short-form by default, and the position is adjustable before export.